Tarsus

De Linguae

The languages of the known world can be divided up into several general families or typologies. While these families may ultimately intermingle or mix to produce new languages or variations on old ones, for the simplicity of categorizing them within the mind.

ANTIKANFAMILY

The Antikan family is composed of languages that are not only heavily, but still primarily Antikan in their grammar and morphology. These languages evolved in Antikos and the Synóron before fusing with various influences from around the Alíthean Empire.

East Antikan. Spoken in Echion and the remainder of the Empire, East Antikan has been heavily influenced by Parsaam and Kemeti. It is the language du jour of the imperial administration and all imperial citizens receive a rudimentary training in it; civil servants and other great men must be fluent.

Kemeti Antikan. Spoken in Kemet, this is a variation of East Antikan that evolved separately over time. It is the common language of Kemet, though administrative papers are still generally written in East Antikan and that is the language used between the Kemeti governors and other imperial civil servants.

Old Antikan. The ancient language of the Antikan islands and the Thyran league, this is a scholar’s language only. No one now speaks it, and it is highly codified and difficult to learn. It is also used by clerics in the Empire, as it is the language of the original Synods and the theologians of the east maintain it is superior to the Varangian and Alíthean equivalents.

Synóros. The dialect of Antikan that was spoken in the upper Synóron peninsula. Now dead.

GLACIESFAMILY

The Glacien tongues are those spoken in the regions north of that settled by the old Alíthean empire. These include the island of Aquilos and the realms of the spear-men near the northern seas; these tongues are primarily spoken in the areas referred to in the modern world as the regni alii.

Aquilen.

Cwae∂an.

Ferori.

Vangarish.

KEMETFAMILY

Kemet appears to be largely unrelated to other language in its region, though there are lines of thought that say it influenced Parsaam during its early development. Kemet is still spoken, and many elements of Kemetic languages have filtered into modern East Antikan.

Archaic Kemet.

Old Kemet.

TANASIN.

Tanasin is the tongue of the Tanas, the desert nomads who’s population makes up for the greater bulk of the peoples in Solinaria, Saxa Magna, and territories in the southern hemisphere. Parsaam, the language of the Guzir, is a relative (if not direct descendent) of ancient Tanasin.

Modern Tanasin.

Old Tanasin.

Parsaam.

Trade Tanas.

VARANGIANFAMILY

The Varangian languages become important when the empire established a secondary capital in the Varangi territories at the city which would be known as Varagus (Varangia). The Alíthean spoken in Varagus was so altered by its exposure to the western languages as to be completely incomprehensible to Antikan speakers.

Calix. The vulgate of Calixnia, Calix is a variant of High Alíthean that has been altered by its exposure to other tongues, both Varangi and Glaci. It features swallowed consonants at the ends of words.

Hastersi. The spoken language of Hastarnia. Similar to Calix, but with far more northern influences. The two languages are not close enough to allow listeners of one to understand another.

High Alíthean. The language of the western church. High Alíthean is in actuality Varangian, as it retains very little of the Antikan language for which it is named. Now used as an ecclesiastical language, all written works (such as this one) on the Continent are written in Alíthean.